Analysis for amanda, 20 November 1998

This is how you described the room:

The room is freezing cold. I'm lying naked on a dirty concrete floor. Room is dark but not black, it is filled a strange grey luminescence. I cannot see the ceiling, the walls whirl off into darkness as they stretch towards the sky. Along one long wall 12-foot high dark purple drapes cover what I assume to be windows. An almost mechanical whirring, like a huge fan, fills the air.

The initial room is the subject’s childhood. What interests us here is the general atmosphere of the room, in addition to the level of furnishings described by the subject. A very uncomfortable room suggests a highly traumatic childhood. No furnishings at all tells of either a complete absence of memories from that time or active suppression of said memories.

You wanted to stay in the room.

The subject did not want to grow up.

This is how you described the forest:

The forest has been devastated. As far as the eye can see are only the stumps of what were once old and powerful trees. The ground is blackened and smokes. It looks as if some army came through and left nothing but fire behind.

The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Stunted, damaged, or absent trees imply a dearth of adult interaction with the subject.

This is how you described the path:

The path is ancient. It looks like it was once an old Roman road: white, straight, wide, and determined to go straight to it's destination. Now it's been broken. The paving stones have been forced up out of the road at strange angles, some have sunk beneath the dirt. They are rutted with hundreds of years of travel - maybe the wheels of old carts, and pitted with age. It is treacherous and slippery, walking on it is dangerous. The broken road disappears into the distance. I'd rather go another way, but this is the only path available.

Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. The visibility of the path tells us that the subject had a good idea of what to expect from adolescence. A wide path indicates that the subject had numerous options for emotional growth at this time. The strong evidence of fellow travelers tells us that the subject received a lot of support from friends and family during that potentially troubling time. Lots of obstructions on the path indicate many problems during adolescence.

This is how you described the water:

The path ends abruptly at a giant whirl pool. A roaring fills my ears as the twilight-blue water is sucked in swirl down into the darkness. As the water flows down the whirl pool it gains more and more speed until it makes me dizzy to look at it.

The water is the subject’s sexuality. What interests us here is the clarity of the water (representing attitude) and its movement (representing libido). Rushing, violent water indicates a powerful, vigorous, and quite possibly compulsive sex drive.

When you came to the water, you crossed it.

The subject is open to new sexual experiences.

This is how you described the cup:

The drinking vessel is a wide, shallow bowl. It is made of sturdy clay. Along the rim of the bowl there is a little dip. It looks like that is where the drinker is intended to place her lips when she wishes to drink from it. The bowl has been decorated with a beautiful celadon green glaze that has almost an effervescent appearance. A thin black vine with flowers has been painted along the edge.

The vessel, or specifically the practicality of the vessel, is how the subject approaches marriage or bonding. A container that is both decorative and practical indicates that the subject considers both romantic and pragmatic aspects of marriage.

You left the cup behind.

The subject is not interested in marriage.

This is how you described the key:

The key is half hidden between two block of stone, only the string, which looks like it was once a piece of pink satin, catches my eye. When I pick the key up I see it is short and fat and round. It looks like one of the keys that you get with a toy of some sort when you were a kid. A key to a diary or one of those jewelry boxes with the interminably spinning ballerina. When I look at the edge of the key, I realize one of the prongs has broken off. This key can't open anything now.

The key is the ideal career for the subject. What interests us here is how the key appears (representing how others view the career) and what it may open (representing the subject’s goals for the career). Note that the key is worthless: this suggests that the subject is cynical about finding any satisfaction through a job. Decorative keys suggest that the subject wants an attention-grabbing, one-of-a-kind career.

You avoided the bear.

In a crisis, the subject prefers the indirect, non-confrontational approach.

When you came to the wall, you tried to go around it.

The wall represents death: by trying to walk around it, the subject shows an acknowledgment of death, but also a need for an alternative to its finality, such as an afterlife or reincarnation.